Mother Starter
"This is a starter that's thicker than my normal sourdough starter and is to be used in the recipes that I've posted that call for a 'mother starter'. Cooking time indicated is proofing time. Note that most measurements are in ounces, so a kitchen scale is required to be accurate. The original recipe (from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Bread Everyday) makes three times the amount, however I've found that it makes more starter than needed or my family, so I've have cut the amount to 1/3."
Ingredients
Nutritional
- Serving Size: 1 (316.8 g)
- Calories 632.7
- Total Fat - 5.7 g
- Saturated Fat - 1.4 g
- Cholesterol - 0 mg
- Sodium - 1150.2 mg
- Total Carbohydrate - 120.7 g
- Dietary Fiber - 5.8 g
- Sugars - 9.8 g
- Protein - 23.7 g
- Calcium - 345.6 mg
- Iron - 8.2 mg
- Vitamin C - 8.1 mg
- Thiamin - 1.1 mg
Step by Step Method
Step 1
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until the ingredients form a rough, slightly sticky ball. Add more flour or water to obtain this consistency.
Step 2
Transfer the starter to a lightly floured work surface and knead for two minutes; until the starter is fairly smooth and all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Place the starter in a clean, lightly oiled non-reactive container large enough to contain the starter when it doubles.
Step 3
Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a lid (do not tighten the lid as the carbon dioxide gas will need to escape). Leave at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours, or until doubled in size.
Step 4
Once the starter has doubled, degas it by kneading for a few second, then form back into a ball, place in oiled container and cover tighly, and refrigerate. After a few hours in the refrigerate, vent any carbon dioxide by briefly opening the container. The starter is now ready to use and will be good for up to 5 days. After 5 days the starter will become dormant and will need to refreshed before used.
Step 5
Refreshing Mother Starter: Over a period of time (weeks) the starter will break down and eventually become the consistency of potato soup, grayish in color and takes on a boozy smell. It's still good, just needs to be refreshed. The starter can be rebuilt with as little as 1 ounce of starter. To rebuild use 1 ounce of starter to 3 ounces of bread flour and 2 to 2.5 ounces of bottled water, following the directions above.
Tips
No special items needed.